Objective: To evaluate whether, in the Italian-American natural history stu
dy, cataract surgery in one eye influences the incidence/progression rate o
f lens opacities in the fellow eye.
Design: Follow-up study of age-related cataract.
Participants: A total of 1399 participants with age-related cataracts were
regularly followed for 5 years and cataract status evaluated by the Lens Op
acities Classification System II on slit-lamp and retroillumination lens ph
otographs. A total of 228 participants had cataract surgery in 1 eye during
the study period, and 192 had sufficient follow-up visits to be included i
n the analysis.
Main Outcome Measure: The incidence/progression of cataract was defined as
two or more consecutive visits with a severity grade greater than the basel
ine grade.
Results: When entered into a Cox model, incidence/progression of specific c
ataract types was not associated with cataract surgery on the fellow eye an
d was not significantly different from that observed in participants who ha
d no cataract surgery.
Conclusions: Cataract extraction does not influence incidence/progression r
ate of specific lens opacities in the fellow eye.